Thursday, May 30, 2013

Grocery Store Flowers

It doesn't take much to make me happy, and I think the money I spent for these gorgeous "grocery store flowers" was money well spent.


The mixed flowers were $9.99, and I couldn't resist adding a bouquet of red carnations for $4.99. I'm going to put them on the island in my kitchen, and they should stay fresh through the weekend.

 

I know they're going to make me happy every time I pass by them.


Best wishes to you for a happy weekend filled with
lots of simple pleasures ... like "grocery store flowers."


Tuesday, May 28, 2013

A Granddaughter's Flower Garden

I've tried to instill a love of flowers and gardening in our 8-year-old granddaughter Avery since an early age, and, inspired by an idea I saw recently on Pinterest, I thought it would be fun if I let her create her own little flower garden in one of the flower beds in our backyard.

Early Saturday morning my husband and I took Avery to our local Home Depot and let her pick out the flowers for her garden ...   



She didn't have any problem making her choices ...
(unlike her "wishy-washy" GrandMama, who would have spent 45 minutes trying to decide).



She liked the red and purple Petunias ...




And also chose pink and white Pentas ...




An orange Impatiens, and a white Begonia ...


While she was shopping, this bright pink Periwinkle blossom caught her attention ...


And was immediate tucked behind her ear ...


We let her do her shopping on her own, including putting her purchases in the car ...



After arriving back home, it was time to prepare her garden space ...


This is the spot we chose for her garden ...


First, she had to remove the pine straw from the planting area ...




After her granddaddy worked the ground up with a shovel, Avery added garden soil ...

 
 

Bless her heart ... she really worked hard and didn't complain at all.

Now it was time for her to arrange her plants ...

 
 

Again ... no "wishy-washiness."
She definitely had a plan in mind ... and set about arranging them!



Now it was time to dig the holes and plant the flowers.




 She took her work very seriously, as you can tell from the expressions on her sweet little face ...



  

Notice the Periwinkle is still tucked behind her ear ...

 

Now she was ready to start planting the flowers.  I showed her how to remove them from the pots and to gently massage their roots to stimulate growth ...


Such concentration ...


Some of the plants may have been "overly stimulated," but that's okay.




The tall plant is an Asiatic Lily my sister-in-law gave me for Mother's Day, which needed to be planted, so we added it to Avery's garden.


I love those sweet little feet peeking out from under her!

 





Avery was so proud ... and rightfully so!
She did a great job, and the best part is that she did it all by herself!



After she finished planting the flowers I added the little white picket fence, which came from Home Depot.  Then it was time to water ...




 


I loved watching Avery create her little flower garden ...  and, even more ... I'm so glad I could capture this sweet memory forever in pictures. The expressions on her face, the graceful way she moved, and the gentle way she held the flowers while she planted them ... all priceless memories.


And when she finished her garden, my mother told her a story about how her great-great-grandfather used to say a prayer after planting his garden, and I asked Avery if she would like to say a prayer for her flowers.  She said, "Yes," and as I stepped away, I could hear her talking quietly, with her hands together in prayer ... and my heart overflowed with love for this precious child ... who has been our "little Miss Sunshine" since the day she came into this world.   And I said a silent prayer of my own, thanking God for her and her little brother Maddox ... who have enriched our lives more than words can say.

And speaking of Maddox ... while his sister was working on her garden, he was busy, too.  Making bubbles ...


 

 Humoring his GrandMama while she took his picture ...

 

I love those sweet curls, but I can foresee a haircut in the near future.

  
 

Learning how to drink (or how NOT to drink) from a bottle of ice cold water ...



My husband Norm gets credit for these water pictures,
which I think are very good, especially this next one ...





His shirt was drenched, but he loved it ...



As you can tell, we had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend ... I hope yours was as much fun.